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At age 54, veteran says he’s ready for next phase of life

AVONDALE, Ariz. — True to his nature, Mark Martin won’t call it a retirement. But the veteran NASCAR driver won’t compete in the Daytona 500 next season, and he left every indication that next week’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway will also be the last start of his storied career.

"The garage is full of drivers who are on their game, and I’ve gotten all the good out of mine. I’ve squeezed every ounce of it out, and no one can say that I didn’t," Martin said Friday after his qualifying run at Phoenix International Raceway. "I worked really, really hard the last 10 years to continue to be a formidable opponent in the garage, and from time to time when stuff was right, I was able to do it. And I’m proud of that. But it’s time for me to open a new chapter and do some other things."

Martin, 54, is finishing this season in the No. 14 car of Tony Stewart, who’s been out since August recovering from broken bones in his right leg suffered in a sprint-car crash. Next year, Martin expects to move into an advisory role with the same Stewart-Haas Racing team, going to tests and offering advice whenever needed. He’ll also handle all of Stewart’s preseason testing before the three-time champion returns for Speedweeks.

But as far as competing in races? Martin entered this season in the second and final year of his contract with Michael Waltrip Racing, with whom he competed in a partial schedule in the organization’s No. 55 car until he was allowed to go to SHR to substitute for Stewart. He said he didn’t entertain any offers to drive next season, even though his phone rang. Martin said he and his wife Arlene have known for a while about his plans to step out of the car after this season, although they kept it to themselves.

"Father Time does take its toll on every single sense you have," Martin said. "Your hand-eye coordination, everything is affected as you get older. And at some point in time, that decline becomes a detriment to you. You can work as hard as you want, you can maybe run good, but you’re fighting Father Time. That’s different for anyone. I feel I can still drive a race car pretty fast, but I’m not the driver I was at my peak. And I know it. Maybe for a while I didn’t, but I know it. … I’m not saying I can’t run good, but I can feel it in everything I do. Every time I get up and walk across the room, I can tell that I’m not 35. And anybody that says they can’t, I don’t know. I’d like to be sipping off their juice."

Martin has won 40 premier series races in a career that started in 1981, and has seen him finish as the circuit’s runner-up five times. He was rejuvenated by a 2009 campaign in which he won five times and placed second in final standings with Hendrick Motorsports, and was competitive last season in his first partial season with MWR.

"I wasn’t ready after the 5 car," he said, referring to the vehicle he drove at Hendrick. "I went over to the 55 and just had a barn-burning year where we nearly won several races and we got six poles and it was very, very satisfying. I felt satisfied and at peace. I also recognize the fact that I’m probably working harder at it than most of the young guys to do that, because I am at a disadvantage. Because no matter how hard you work at it, eventually Father Time will extract its toll from your skills."

This season, though, has been more difficult, particularly since he shifted over to the No. 14 car. "I was trying to go out with some dignity," Martin said. "The last two months have not been pretty. But everybody in the garage suffers through times when they can’t get their cars to do what they need them to do. I’m not the only one."

All of which makes the Batesville, Ark., native look forward to the next phase of his career.

"It’s exciting, because I get to be involved in racing, and I love it so much," Martin said. "But I don’t think I’m going to miss being a race-car driver, because I got to do that, and I was really good at it. And it’s not fun for me if I’m not real good at it. It’s only fun for me when I’m able to have a shot to put my number at the top of the scoreboard. That’s what’s fun. That’s what drives me. We did that a whole bunch last year, and it was really fun. And when the year was over with, I said, ‘I’m fulfilled, this is good, we’ll finish out our commitment and move on to the next thing.’ "

The plans for that next thing won’t be finalized until after next weekend’s finale at Homestead. Martin said he’ll be in a race car some in 2014, but he’s not yet sure of exactly how much outside of Stewart’s preseason testing in the No. 14. He added he plans to be at all of SHR’s tests next season, but not necessarily to drive. He would be available, though, if any driver is unable to attend the test or requested a second opinion from someone else in the seat.

There’s one thing, though, he says he won’t be — a driving coach for Danica Patrick, who’ll be part of SHR’s 2014 lineup along with Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch.

"I say Danica does not need a driving coach. She’s driving her tail off, doing an amazing job in my opinion," Martin said. "But if we can feed her faster race cars, she will reach her full potential. I don’t want (the media) to write that I’m going to be coaching Danica. I don’t think she needs one ounce of coaching. She’s driving fantastic. We’ve got to get her cars faster. … So if I were able to aid in any way, shape, or form the information that was given to her to utilize, or (crew chief) Tony Gibson to put the right stuff under her, that would be a success. But as far as coaching her driving, I don’t think she needs it."

For Martin, this all crystallized for him after this season’s Daytona 500, where he finished third in a race he had always pursued but never won. He left the track content that he had been a factor his last time out.

"I wish I would have won it," Martin said. "But it was pretty cool to run third, and on the way home I felt pretty comfortable in my skin that I ran third in the last Daytona 500 I ran. This stuff ain’t easy, you know? It’s not easy. So I was proud of that."

One thing, though, won’t change — Martin still bristles at the idea of retirement, just as he always has. "I’m not sure if you keep working, if you’re really retiring. So I’m just saying I don’t have anything lined up to race next year," he said. He’s been listening to a lot of country music lately, and one classic George Jones tune in particular has struck a chord with him. The song is called, "I Don’t Need Your Rocking Chair."

"I’m like, dang, that fits this week perfect," Martin said, smiling, "because I’m not going to be using a rocking chair."

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Off-track relationship has no bearing when green flag drops

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AVONDALE, Ariz. — Over the final weeks of what would become his most recent title run, Jimmie Johnson didn’t even want to speak with Denny Hamlin, his closest rival for the crown. Whenever their paths crossed over the latter stages of that playoff, the soon-to-be five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion wanted to look in the other direction.

What a contrast that is to these days, when Johnson and Matt Kenseth not only casually chat backstage before driver introductions, they also visit each others’ motorhomes when their young daughters want to play together. It’s hard to remember two recent championship contenders who’ve gotten along quite as well as Johnson and Kenseth, a pair of middle-aged dads who also happen to be battling for the biggest prize in NASCAR.

"I think our relationship has always been good. It’s probably better right now than it’s ever been," Kenseth said Friday at Phoenix International Raceway, which Sunday will host the penultimate event in a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup that Johnson leads by seven points over the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. This has so far been a title race without any of the friction that defined last season’s battle between the teams of Johnson and Brad Keselowski, whose rivalry endures to this day.

"It’s different in some of those levels," Johnson said. "But on track, it’s just real simple. They’re good. They’re strong. We’ve got to find a way to be better."

That, both title hopefuls say, is when the lines begin to blur and two friends just become two of 43 drivers on the track trying to accomplish the same thing. Johnson and Kenseth have been close since the latter claimed the title with Roush Fenway Racing in 2003, and Johnson and then-girlfriend Chandra drove over the Kenseth’s house to share celebratory beers with Matt and wife Katie. Now both drivers have a pair of young daughters, leading to natural interactions in a competitor motorhome lot that’s grown full of little kids during this recent baby boom in NASCAR.

Once the green flag flies, though, none of that matters.

"I don’t think it makes any difference," Kenseth said. "When you drop the green out here on Sunday, there’s 42 cars that you want to beat and there’s 42 teams and guys that you’re trying to get ahead of and you’re trying to beat to go win the race. The guy I get along with the best on the race track, I want to beat him just as bad as the guy I get along with the least on the race track. For me, it honestly doesn’t really matter. Once they throw the green, they’re all cars that you want to beat and finish in front of, and you realize that to win the race, you have to figure out how to beat them all."

Speaking at an event Thursday night when one of his cars from last year was enshrined in owner Roger Penske’s museum, Keselowski said the key to his title run last season was that he got aggressive with Johnson, forcing the No. 48 team into mistakes like the cut tire at Phoenix that all but scuttled its championship hopes. Hard racing was Johnson’s weakness, Keselowski said, an assertion the Hendrick Motorsports driver later roundly dismissed.

Keselowski added that Kenseth might benefit from a similar tactic, and indeed the cars of the two title contenders were around one another occasionally in opening Sprint Cup practice Friday on the one-mile Phoenix track. But Kenseth said that’s not gamesmanship — it’s just the way he competes, regardless of who he’s up against.

"I think I race everybody really the same," Kenseth said "It doesn’t always work out according to plan, but I think you always race people the way you’d like to be raced. You try to show them respect, and more times than not you get that back. … When they start a race, you’re going to race everybody the same and you’re hoping you have a good enough car and everything goes good enough where you can figure out how to win."

Jeff Gordon has been there, winning four titles of his own — three of those in the heyday of Dale Earnhardt — and going down to the wire against Johnson in 2007. He knows there’s a friendship between Johnson and Kenseth, but also believes there are deep competitive urges beneath it.

"Don’t let that fool you. Both of those guys are fierce competitors. They just haven’t had to battle one another one-on-one on the track," Gordon said. "Honestly, me and Earnhardt, we didn’t either in ’95. We never had one incident in ’95 on the race track that I can remember. We had a few others prior to that and after that, but not really. It seemed like when I was at my best, he was a fifth- or 10th-place car. When he was at his best, I was a fifth- or 10th-place car. We never had a one-on-one, hard battle in a tight points battle. You take Jimmie and Matt this weekend, they’re in a tight battle. If they’re lined up side-by-side on a restart, it’s going to get a little more interesting."

Indeed, circumstances haven’t yet played out to put Johnson and Kenseth in head-to-head situations at the end of Chase races as they did for Johnson and Keselowski a season ago. But at the same time, these are both savvy, veteran drivers who know how to minimize any distraction that can get in the way of a championship — potential personal beefs included.

"I think they want it to be settled on the track," Gordon said. "They don’t want it to be settled in the media, or anything to be created, because they just want to go have it settled on the track. And I’m not saying that’s the best thing for the entertainment value of the sport. I’m just saying, that’s where our mindset is as competitors. We just want to win. We just want to win races and championships. We hope in that process it’s very entertaining. But if it’s not, we don’t look at that as our issue."

Johnson and Kenseth did have a few bumpy episodes during their days in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, when Kenseth was a championship contender and Johnson was "the slow guy in the way," as he called himself. But they moved past it, got older, had kids, won titles and developed a friendship that’s thwarted any potential personal drama between them in this Chase — even now, when they’re the last two drivers standing trying to win it.

"I like having friends more than I like having enemies," Kenseth said, "so yes, I think it’s good."

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Reigning champ suggests racing hard is No. 48 team’s weak spot

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PHOENIX — If Brad Keselowski has any advice for Matt Kenseth when it comes to taking on Jimmie Johnson in the heat of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, it would be simple — don’t hesitate to get aggressive with the five-time champion, something the Penske Racing driver thinks was key to his title run a year ago.

"That team’s success comes from almost a gosh-golly-gee approach — not racing hard — and just beating you on pure speed, which has been their traditional advantage," Keselowski said of the No. 48 team. "So for them, I wouldn’t want to race someone that’s going to race me hard, because that’s not their wheelhouse. And I think that was one of our strengths last year. If I was going to give Matt a piece of advice, I’d say use the s— out of him. Every time you get, run him hard, because that’s his weakness. But Matt’s got to race how he wants to race. That’s his right."

This championship race has boiled down to Johnson and Kenseth, who are separated by seven points as NASCAR’s top series arrives at Phoenix International Raceway for the penultimate event of the season. As far as the title is concerned, Keselowski isn’t a factor, given that the sport’s reigning champion failed to qualify for the Chase. But that doesn’t mean the rivalry between his group and the No. 48 team, so evident in the final weeks a year ago, has subsided. If anything, it remains at a low simmer.

That much seemed evident last Sunday at Texas, when No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus said after Johnson’s victory that their opponent for the title this season "is a little more formidable than what we had last year." Although some interpreted that as praise for Kenseth, who already has a 2003 title to his name, others saw it as a slap at Keselowski.

Did that comment just roll off the reigning champions back? "No. No," Keselowski said. "It’s just one of those situations where it’s hard to really define what he’s trying to say, and I said I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. But that doesn’t mean I’m not listening," he added Thursday night during an event at team owner Roger Penske’s museum, where a No. 2 car from last year’s title run was being added to the collection.

"I think you have to look at the bigger picture. Matt Kenseth has won a championship. He’s been at the Cup level for 13 seasons, approximately. He’s got two Daytona 500 rings. I can’t even list all his accomplishments, they’re pretty big. I think that maybe the emphasis should be put on respecting what Matt has done, and not necessarily disrespecting where I’m at."

Keselowski can relate to Kenseth’s situation. Last year it was the Penske driver who came to Phoenix seven points down to Johnson, but took a commanding advantage into the season finale after the No. 48 car cut a tire and hit the wall. Keselowski doesn’t believe that was an accident — he thinks it was a result of the way he pushed Johnson throughout the weekend, which in turn led the No. 48 team to push things too far with their car.

"I thought I ran him really hard at Texas, at Phoenix in practice," Keselowski said. "Some practice sessions I got by him. At the race he drove the car too hard until it blew out a tire. You can look at it and say it’s a tire failure or whatever, but those in the garage that know how the cars work know it was reaching too hard and a failure that was caused from that. I feel quite confident in that. That’s that group’s weakness."

Friday morning at Phoenix International Raceway, Johnson said last year’s tire failure on the one-mile track was of his team’s own doing. "We overworked the tire. We created an issue ourselves," he said. "We were lacking some speed, the 2 had us covered the entire time here. In that particular run where the tire blew, I look back on, man, if I had preserved my tires a little more … we’d go to Homestead with a much smaller deficit and have a much better chance of racing. So that’s the lesson I take from last year’s race here."

Johnson added he had no recollection of any tactics Keselowski might have used in practice last season at Phoenix to try and put pressure on him. And he was defiant when the topic turned to whether his team was averse to racing hard.

"I guess we need to ask Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin — who else have I raced for a championship? — Carl Edwards, a lot of those guys (about) how we race. We race hard. That’s not a weakness of ours by any stretch," Johnson said.

"Racing’s what I’m good at. I’m not the best at putting up the fastest lap, the best at qualifying, the best at topping the speed charts in practice. But look at who has the fastest cars on the race track. I’m good at racing. That’s my sweet spot."

To Keselowski, the No. 48 team remains a study in contradictions. "You look at last weekend alone, it’s very hard to believe that Jimmie Johnson is a driver who can run three-tenths faster than the entire field on skill, but that’s what the numbers all showed," he said, referring to Texas. Like many others, he often wonders how Johnson’s programs has been able to defy the natural peaks and troughs most other teams endure, and maintain such a consistently high standard from one season to the next.

"It’s hard to really understand the full situation," Keselowski said. "But I can tell you this — I feel like heads-up I can beat him, and that’s all I can ask for."

 

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Jones is youngest winner in series history; Crafton closes in on title

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AVONDALE, Ariz. — In a battle between two drivers who had never won a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, 17-year-old Erik Jones pulled away from Ross Chastain in the final 10 laps of Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway, becoming the youngest winner in series history.

Driving the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, Jones took the lead on Lap 142 of 150, powering to the inside of Chastain through the dogleg on the backstretch. Born May 30, 1996, Jones eclipsed Chase Elliott, a winner earlier this year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, as the youngest winner in Truck Series history.

With a fifth-place run, Matt Crafton moved closer to the series championship, ending the evening 46 points ahead of Ty Dillon, who finished fourth. To secure the title, Crafton has to only start Friday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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James Buescher, who entered the race second in points and is the reigning series champion, came home ninth and was eliminated from championship contention. Veteran Brendan Gaughan ran third behind Jones and Chastain.

Jones and Chastain swapped the lead through a series of late-race cautions before Jones made the winning pass and pulled away. After the final restart on Lap 141, Chastain blocked a strong run by Jones at the top the track, a move that made Jones all the more determined to win the race.

"On the last restart, we stayed with him through (Turns) 1 and 2 on the top side," Jones said. "He squeezed us up — but that’s racing with 10 to go. You can’t blame him for that. But when something like that happens, it makes you more determined than you were before.

"I was really determined after that to go back and get it. I really felt like we had a better truck from the previous restart, and I really felt like it was our race all day and didn’t want to let it slip away."

Jones lost the lead to Chastain during pit stops under caution on Lap 89, the yellow flag necessitated by Ron Hornaday’s hard crash into the Turn 4 wall. After his release from the infield care center following the wreck that ended his race, Hornaday revealed that he had been released from his ride in the No. 9 NTS Motorsports truck and will drive for Turner Scott Motorsports in the season finale.

As soon as the green flag waved, however, Jones powered to the outside of Chastain after a restart on Lap 94 and cleared the No. 19 by the time the trucks exited Turn 2.

Jones opened a lead of 3.2 seconds before debris from Joey Coulter‘s truck caused the fourth caution of the night on Lap 110. Chastain grabbed the lead from the inside lane after the Lap 120 restart moments before John Wes Townley‘s spin into the outside wall caused the sixth caution.

Chastain retained the top spot until Lap 132, when Timothy Peters‘ truck got loose beneath that of fellow Toyota driver Darrell Wallace Jr. and sent both trucks spinning.

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Points leader wins third pole of the season, sets track record

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AVONDALE, Ariz. — Call it an extra gear. Call it the benefit of a late draw.

Whatever you call it, Jimmie Johnson found that extra modicum of speed in Friday’s qualifying session at Phoenix International Raceway.

With a record run at 139.222 mph (25.858 seconds), Johnson won the pole for Sunday’s AdvoCare 500, the next-to-last race in the 10-event Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, as the top four drivers in time trials broke the previous mark Kyle Busch set a year ago.

It was the 19th time this season a track record has fallen in the Cup series.

Johnson was the 41st of 43 drivers to make qualifying runs, and he took full advantage of the late draw on a cooler track. As a result, the Chase leader will start 13 positions ahead of Matt Kenseth, second in points and seven points behind Johnson.

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The Coors Light Pole award was Johnson’s third of the season, his second at Phoenix and the 32nd of his career. Seven of Johnson’s 24 victories in Chase races have come from the pole, including his win at the fall race at Phoenix in 2008.

Denny Hamlin (139.023 mph), Kenseth’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, qualified second and promised to make things as difficult as possible for Johnson, within the bounds of racing decorum. Joey Logano (138.942 mph) will start third, followed by Busch (138.851 mph) and Jeff Gordon (138.627 mph).

Johnson’s record-setting pole run was no surprise to Logano, who said the driver of the No. 48 had been on “kill mode” in recent weeks, as evidenced by his dominating win last Sunday at Texas.

"Just to see the speed in his car — he unloads today and you watch in practice how fast his car was," Logano said. "It seems like, when they’re racing for the championship, the find that extra notch that a lot of teams can’t find."

Hamlin said much of the same.

"Those guys (the 48 team) had their struggles right before the Chase started, but I think everyone in the garage knew that they can kind of turn it up at will," Hamlin said. "This is typically the time of year that they start doing that, especially when they are in championship contention."

Johnson, however, doesn’t think he or his team is doing anything out of the ordinary.

"I don’t feel like I’m doing anything different, but — at least the years we won championships (2006 through 2010) — we’ve been able to do more than we have in the regular season. It’s hard when you’re inside the car and inside the team to know the difference is, because we’re doing the same stuff.

"But when I look around, and I see what other champions do to win … they always seem to find a way to find a little more. Somehow we’re doing it — yes, I recognize that — but it’s not a concerted effort. It’s not something that we’re doing any differently. It’s just what you have to do to win championships, and we’re trying to rise up to the face of the 20 (Kenseth), and beat him."

The 18th driver to make a qualifying attempt, Busch was first to break his own track record. Busch covered one-mile the distance in 25.927 seconds on Friday to knock Kevin Harvick off the provisional pole.

Busch’s record run simply opened the floodgates. Logano, 24th out, followed with his lap at 138.942 mph but didn’t stay on top of the qualifying chart for long. Hamlin, who followed Logano in the order, toured the irregularly shaped mile in 25.895 seconds to supplant the driver of the No. 22 Ford.

Hamlin remained on the provisional pole until Johnson posted his record lap.

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51-time Truck Series winner will race for Turner Scott Motorsports at Homestead

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Ron Hornaday Jr. will be driving for a different team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series finale next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The four-time series champion told FOX Sports1 television Friday night that he would pilot a sixth Turner Scott Motorsports entry in the last race of the year. Hornaday’s current team, NTS Motorsports, informed him before Friday night’s race at Phoenix International Raceway that it would make a change effective next week, Hornaday told the network after cutting a tire and crashing out of the event.

NTS Motorsports confirmed the move in a Saturday news release. The organization will announce the No. 9 driver at a later date.

"We at NTS Motorsports appreciate everything Ron has done this year to help build NTS Motorsports in its first year competing at the national level in NASCAR," team owner Bob Newberry said in the release. "Ron has been a great asset to our organization and we wish him the best in his future endeavors."

Hornaday is the all-time race winner in Truck Series history, with 51 trips to Victory Lane. He finished 28th Friday and is 11th in the standings.

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Scott will roll off last in Saturday’s qualifying, beginning at 12:35 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1

# Car Driver Team
1 70 Derrike Cope Toyota
2 4 Daryl Harr iWorld Chevrolet
3 01 Mike Wallace Verve Chevrolet
4 24 Kelly Admiraal Weston Camp Services Toyota
5 40 TJ Bell Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet
6 23 Timmy Hill(i) PocketFinder.com Chevrolet
7 52 * Joey Gase Donate Life/BBB.org Chevrolet
8 00 * Blake Koch Frontline Wraps Toyota
9 51 Jeremy Clements ETS Chevrolet
10 92 * Dexter Stacey # Maddie`s Place Ford
11 44 Chad Hackenbracht(i) Tastee Chocolate Apples Toyota
12 10 * Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota
13 74 * Mike Harmon Dodge
14 79 Jeffrey Earnhardt # SK Hand Tools Ford
15 87 Joe Nemechek SWM/pelletgrillusa.com Toyota
16 42 * Josh Wise Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet
17 89 * Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet
18 14 Eric McClure Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Toyota
19 55 * Jamie Dick Viva Auto Group Chevrolet
20 98 * Kevin Swindell # Carroll Shelby Motors Ford
21 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. # QualComm Chevrolet
22 19 Mike Bliss Tweaker Energy Shot Toyota
23 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Alliance Truck Parts Ford
24 77 Parker Kligerman Toyota Toyota
25 16 * Ryan Reed Drive to Stop Diabetes by Lilly Diabetes Ford
26 5 Brad Sweet Great Clips Chevrolet
27 11 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Toyota
28 18 * Matt Kenseth(i) GameStop/Batman Arkham Origins Toyota
29 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Discount Tire Ford
30 20 Drew Herring Dollar General Toyota
31 54 Kyle Busch(i) Monster Energy Toyota
32 43 Michael Annett Pilot Travel Centers Ford
33 60 Travis Pastrana Roush Fenway Racing Ford
34 48 * Ryan Blaney(i) AutoZone Ford
35 99 Alex Bowman # Fuelxx by Innovative Green Technologies Toyota
36 6 Trevor Bayne WFG Ford
37 32 Kyle Larson # Target Chevrolet
38 7 Regan Smith TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
39 33 Kevin Harvick(i) Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet
40 31 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet
41 3 Austin Dillon AdvoCare Chevrolet
42 2 Brian Scott Whitetail Chevrolet

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Harvick held on to the lead till the end until Allgaier got a late push

AVONDALE, Ariz. – A late push by Justin Allgaier put the Turner Scott Motorsports driver at the top of the scoreboard, just moments before Friday’s second and final Nationwide Series practice came to a close here at Phoenix International Raceway.

Allgaier’s lap of 132.827 mph in the No. 31 Chevrolet was enough to knock the No. 33 entry of Richard Childress Racing Sprint Cup Series regular Kevin Harvick (132.641 mph) off the top spot.

Points leader Austin Dillon (RCR) was third while Alex Bowman (RAB Racing) and Michael Annett (Richard Petty Motorsports) completed the top five.

Dillon will carry a six-point lead over Sam Hornish Jr. (Penske Racing) into Saturday’s ServiceMaster 200, the 32nd of 33 races on the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule. 

Hornish Jr., a winner here two years ago, was 19th in the session. 

The only on-track incident involved Brad Sweet, who spun his No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. 

Kyle Busch, Drew Herring, Brian Scott, Trevor Bayne and Kyle Larson were sixth through 10th, respectively.

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Pole-sitter Chastain chooses the first pit stall off pit road

Ross Chastain won the 21 Means 21 Pole for Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway with a top speed of 133.398 mph. This marks Chastain’s second pole win of the season, as well as his career. 

Chastain chose to have the first stall off of pit road, heading into Turn 1. 

Erik Jones, who topped the charts in the final practice and qualified second, chose the sixth pit stall box with an opening in front of him. 

Qualifying third was Brendan Gaughan who chose the 33rd pit stall, which is a pit stall with another front opening. 

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Posted on by Staff Report

Points leader Crafton will start ninth

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Ross Chastain won the 21 Means 21 Pole for Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Chastain topped the charts in qualifying with a speed of 133.398 mph to earn his second pole of the season and of his career.

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Erik Jones, who topped the charts in final practice, will join Chastain on the front row with a speed of 133.171 mph.

Brendan Gaughan, James Buescher and Max Gresham round out the top five. Buescher is 46 points behind points leader Matt Crafton, who can leave Phoenix with the Truck Series title locked up. Crafton will start ninth in tonight’s race.

Darrell Wallace Jr., who had a confrontation in the final practice with Chad Frewaldt, qualified 13th.

Sunoco Rookie of the Year hopeful Ryan Blaney spun on the backstretch of his second lap in qualifying causing approximately a 15-minute delay as his truck was eventually towed away. Blaney qualified 26th and will use his backup truck for tonight’s race.

The Lucas Oil 150 is at 8 p.m. ET tonight on FOX Sports 1.

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